Movie-theater companies of all sizes are confronting unprecedented financial strain during the pandemic as capacity restrictions, moviegoers’ reluctance to return to cinemas and a dearth of high-profile movies from big studios limit their chances of mounting a comeback. Although national cinema chains have been hit, too, for small family-owned operators, the problems are particularly acute and personal, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. They don’t have large financial cushions, making them especially vulnerable to downturns that can wipe out family livelihoods. All U.S. states have now allowed theaters to reopen at limited capacity, though restrictions on key areas such as New York City and Los Angeles County remain a major problem for movie-theater owners nationwide. Not just the nation’s most lucrative movie-theater market, New York also is home to many prominent film critics whom studios rely on to generate media buzz. Partly because of these closures, studios have been postponing the release of high-profile films, leaving theaters without fresh material to woo patrons. Some expect many theaters to close for good if the logjam continues. John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners, the cinema industry’s main lobbying group, said that only about 5 percent of member theaters have shut permanently. But without either a federal stimulus package or a reopening of New York City theaters, he said, more than a quarter of small to midsize theaters expect to go out of business by the end of October and 69 percent by year-end, according to a survey of the group’s members.
